Watermarks
by Invader LeKO
Summary: The Resisty gets a new member, and this time they really start messing things up. But mostly for themselves. No pairings, violence and mild language.
1. The Rookie

_A moral being is one who is capable of reflecting on his past actions and their motives - of approving of some and disapproving of others._

_~Charles Darwin_

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><p>Heavy raindrops spattered against the cracked pavement of Chicago, resonating through the thin alleyway. I glanced at the Earth's night sky and saw the moon was nearing the horizon. I knew I had to get off this planet before it was too late.<p>

Hands shaking, my breath at a panicked rate, I pulled out a damp rag and tried to wipe away some of the dark blood staining the concrete. The salty smell was getting to my head, my heart pounding violently. My mind screamed adrenaline fueled thoughts, haunting me with guilt.

_This isn't right, I'm not a murderer... That cruel bastard never said I would have to... oh dear god, can they see me? Am I still safe? I have to get out of here, I have to get out of here NOW. I hear footsteps... Okay, don't panic, they probably won't see you..._

The sticky substance refused to leave the ground. I groaned in frustration and decided nobody would see the body here anyway. Hopefully. I grabbed what I came for and sprinted through the alley, away from the mangled corpse. The water splashed against my footsteps. When I occasionally saw a person walk by in the corner of my sight, I would panic and go hide. Unlike the invader, I was unprepared for my visit. I had no disguise. When they eventually left, I would continue to run through the streets with the silvery orb in hand.

I finally reached my ship and jumped in. Daytime was nearing. I rocketed into the air, getting away from the surface as fast as I possibly could. When I was finally in space, I sat back in the soft chair and took a deep breath. _I'm safe._ I turned my attention to the shiny trinket. Examining it curiously, I turned it around in my hands. I never studied irkens much, so I knew very little about them. From what I did know, this appeared to be some sort of bio mechanical hard drive. Efficient, but unnecessary. Dropping the curious device on the deck, I set a course back to the Resisty's ship. According to the computer, the trip would take a few hours. I decided I would take the opportunity to get some well deserved rest.

* * *

><p><strong>BEEP<strong>

**BEEP**

**BEEP**

**BEEP**

"Get up, it's time for skool!"

I moaned and rolled over in my bed, fumbling to turn off my alarm and find my glasses. When the room came into focus, I was met with an enraged Gaz glaring over me.

**THUNK.**

"Ow!"  
>"I said to get out of bed!"<p>

She left the room, grabbing her GS2 from my bedside table on the way out. Muttering under my breath, I stepped out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen, grabbing some toast.

Dad's head went floating through the room. "I love you son-[KSHH]make sure to eat your vegetabl-[KSHH]ave a good day at skool." And off it flew.

I wolfed down my toast and started my journey to the skool. I took my usual route, smirking as I noticed puddles from the rain last night. The sky was still grey with rain clouds. I imagined Zim paranoid it might start raining again and gave a small chuckle. That's when something made me stop dead in my tracks.

"Gaz... do you smell that?"

"Smell what?"

"It almost smells like..." my eyes went wide with worry. "blood."

"It always smells like that around here. Hurry up, we're late."

I figured out the direction the smell was coming from, and found myself morbidly curious to see its source. But when I glanced into the dark alley, I gasped and retracted from shock. Laying disfigured on the pavement was a short irken...

"Z-..Zim? Are you okay?" I called, not sure if I actually cared or not.

No response.

I took a step closer, feeling slightly nauseous from the sick display in front of me. I called out again, a little less confident.

"...Zim?"

* * *

><p>"Good job, rookie. I'm impressed." Lard Nar said, tossing the PAK up and down in his hands. "So tell me, do you know what this is?"<p>

I did my best to sound professional, ignoring my nervousness.

"I think so... it keeps their memories, right?"

He chuckled and stepped down from his chair, pacing back and forth in front of me. "Far more than that, actually. Not only can this hold MEMORIES of an irken life, but it also carries powerful weaponry, tools... And something called the 'watermark'. Imagine a watermark in a book. Invisible to the naked eye, but it appears when you shine a light through it. It's stored on the INSIDE of the paper..."

I was standing as tall as I could, perked up with interest. "Go on..."

"The watermark defines the irken, explains the mind inside the body to themselves and to others.. It's exactly what we need. A personality. Honestly, I didn't expect you to pull this off on your own..."

"So... does that mean I'm in?"

"You impressed me. I have to say, that's not common around here. I hereby declare you an official member of the Resisty. Besides," he faced me and held out a hand. "it's nice to have another vortian on board."


	2. The Briefing

**NOTE: In your URL, delete www. and replace it with m. to get the proper effect at the end. Thanks.**_  
><em>

_Police discovered the body of a young green-skinned boy in Illinois this morning, after reports from a hysterical young grade 7 student. The 911 operator says he claims there was a "dead alien in the street" and hysterically requested a paranormal investigator on the scene. The body is soon to be examined in an autopsy, in the meantime the child has been sent to the Crazy House for Boys, as is standard protocol for such predicaments.. Stay tuned to hear interviews, and the crime lab's discoveries._

* * *

><p>"So, this is the plan." Lard Nar tapped the holo-screen as he paced back and forth. The crew sat at their usual stations, chairs swiveled to face the platform he stood upon in the middle of the ship.<p>

Next to me sat- or rather, hovered- a strange cone like creature. He seemed a bit too happy about the situation, personally. On my left was the only member I'd really been getting along with as of late. He resembled a giant spider, if spiders had single jointed legs disconnected from their floating body and head.

"We sneak a small space-ops team to the ship, hopefully discreet enough to get through their detectors. Once nearby, we should be able to slip in through a timed dash via the disposal system. Hopefully with this," He glanced at a plexiglass case containing the PAK I stole, "our rookie should be able to get past their scanners and get into the on board smeetery."

My face got a bit warm. This seemed like a rather dangerous mission to assign the new guy... Was it just because I got the PAK in the first place? I sure hope it wasn't since we're both vortian.. Surely he wouldn't be that close-minded?

"So, how'd you do it?" The cone-shaped creature whispered to me, leaning down next to my head. I felt slightly nauseous.

"I'd rather not talk about this. Not right now." I lifted him back in the air.

"Okay. ...I'm Shloonktapooxis! You can call me Shloonk."

I nodded, pretending to remain calm. Why would he be so cheerful about it? Was this some sort of _game_ to them? The salty smell of flowing blood... His screaming as the rain poured down his face, making a sound slightly similar to flipping meat on a grill... It all flashed past again. I shuddered. _Never again_. I shook myself back into paying attention, ignoring Shloonk and his incessant humming.

"The watermark will send out a frequency, like a reverse metal detector. It should leave the guards unsuspecting. IF it wasn't damaged along the way. Unfortunately, we haven't the technology to check ourselves."

Great.

"Alright, let's work out a team. Obviously the rookie will be the leader and the infiltrator. I trust you to get that thing into their system. Ixane, you will provide a distraction on the way out. He obviously will be without the PAK on exit, so without someone to help break him out, he's done for."

"Not a problem. This should be fun." Muttered a purpled hooded female in the distance. She had a strange, exotic accent. All I could see of her face were thin, glowing blue eyes, the rest hidden in shadow under her thick veil.

Lard Nar nodded and walked into the crowd, handing us each a watch-like device. Its face was square and glass-like, probably acrylic judging by the texture. It had several buttons, each marking a symbol.

"That should help you. Sentrik will be able to keep track of you from a distance, giving tactical advice and directions." The spider-like figure next to me nodded and grunted slightly." Glad to see I'm not the only nervous one. Any questions? No? Good. Dismissed!"

Slowly, the crowd began chatting amongst themselves and walking back to their stations. I saw Lard Nar signal us to follow him. He entered a small room towards the corner of the ship, one I hadn't noticed before now. It was dimly lit by a weak flickery light, many design sketches and blueprints lay on the slightly rusted metal table. He checked to make sure the door was locked and sat down. Sentrik, Ixane and I followed suit.

"So... I trust you know the risks of this mission?"

I glanced at Sentrik. "..Risks?"

* * *

><p>I sat on the sponged floor, just thinking. I wasn't sure whether to celebrate, or mourn. I mean... <em>Zim was dead. <em>It was over. And in the autopsy... Well, there's no way they would be that stupid, right? They would finally know. They would learn I was right! And then I would be out of this straight jacket. I looked forward to that, I was beginning to miss the use of my arms.

Suddenly, the guard bursted into the room, throwing a "pack-o'-rations" at my head and immediately slamming the door. Rolling my eyes, I lost a little dignity and began eating the strange square of meat like a dog, careful to peel off the newspaper like wrapping first.

* * *

><p>[-CONTROL BR͜҉̶̺A̸͏̮ͅIN DATA̶̟͈̟͈̭͇̼BASE MODULE 4͛ͣ̿͂ͮ͏̡͇̮̮̹̱̣͘ͅ1̶͇̟̙̫̲͕͚̘̖̫̰̤͖̺̣͈̦̰ͬ̾̉̔ͬ͐ͩ̑ͮ͘͠3̷̵̨͚̤̥̯̖̩̯͕͓̫̩̣̳͆̉ͬͮ̂ͨ͋̒ͣ͒̽͐̂ͨͅͅ]<p>

**Yes, this is Tallest Purple. I have r͏̻̩̳̘͉̰͔̹̝̮̠̮̥͢͜͞͞r҉̖̘̯̝̠͇̹̰̖͍̣̫̞̜̹̫̫̻͡p̶̱̞̯̩͓̩̗͖͉̺̠̼̲̻̙̳̭͢͞o̷̸̜̞̘̲͕͢ŕ͇̯̪̭̖̪͙̪̤̲͇̹͚͉͢͝ṱ̢͔̩̙̳͕̺͇͖̦̳̰̠̰̳͚̤͠ͅs̢̰̪͙̥͖̺̮͎̦̤̱̩̖̝̗̟̞̱͝͠͞ ̢͕͚̣̟̪̱́͟ͅớ̧̡͔͎̹̭͓̮̥̜͎̭̗̘͡f̵̴̶̻̞̬̀͜ ̬͇̪̦̟͇̲͖̣͙̳͕̘͟͟͠͞ḑ̸̪̝̳͎̲̯͕͚̤̟̳͚̠͢ͅf̠͇̞̳͉͍̖̮͔̻̖̥́͢a̴̷͓̤̫̪͇̹̱̝̯̪ͅí̷̶̫̹̼̲͚̝̘̗̟͟m͕͔̹̗̗̭̠̠̗̙͕͚̘̼̖̫̞̝͔͜͡͞ ̵̹̖̝̹͖́́͘͟i͏̧̗̳̞̣͎̟̹̦͉̀͘ͅz҉͍͕̤̻̥͢m̷̛̲͙͇̯̺ the area, do you confirm?**

**Y̴҉͈̙̪͖è̛̱̤̟̼̙̣͖͔̩̫̖͍͎̯̞̺̫̳͘͝͡ś̶̨̡̱̖͍̣͍̲͓̲̰,̡̢̳̠͉̱͇͔̞̳̪̗͎̖̗͇̝ͅ ̹̱̣͍̝͙̪̣͍͖̠̥͎̥̝͜͜t͏̷͕̪̯͉̰̖͇͚̯̲̭̜̥̥̹̩̕͢͠ͅͅh̖̠̲͈̠̱̼̤̰̟͘͠ͅͅe̶̸̷̘̹̲͉̲͍̘̲̦̭͝ ̢̧̙̪̣̻̜̰̻d̸̢̺̟̭̺͈͍̖͉̦̠͘͡e̢̲̖̦̘̼̲̭̜̤̮̤͍̬̕͟͞f̧̦̘͍̥͉̬͡ͅȩ̵͏҉̜̫͍̩̙̩̺̞̣̜͍̞̘c̡͎̼͚̞͍̞̥̺̳͢͞t͢҉̛̜̩̲̯͉͇̠͈͚ ҉͏̧̝̭̫͙͉̞̞̻͚̱̤̦̕͝ͅͅh̸̡̡̯̙͖̱͚͙͈̦̜̣̫̝͇͝a̸̵̛̝͎͔͔͍̗̞̣̥̘̮̗͖͡s̷̵̺̙͖̠̼̙͈͟͠ͅ ̸̨̨̻̦̝̝̭͚b̸̦̫̫͎̹̦̟͙̱͘̕͟͠e̶̴̢̬̲̞̮͝͠e̦̣̺͖̩̰̙͢ņ̖̦̺̥̕͢͞ ̷҉̶͖͖͍̰̻̣̤͚͟͝d̷̡͇͚̬̥͍̗̮́͘̕ͅę̴̷̥̹̣̣̙͓̰̭͍̱̹̯͓̦͜c̡͖̲̙̫̬̟̝̣̘͇̜̼͎̻̬̰̮͕̣̀͜͜e̶̱̪̮͉̪͎̣̯̦̻̜̝͖̕ͅạ̪͍͚̞̠̖͍̦͔͈͍̳͢s̷̬̙̞̯̕͜͢͠e̷̸̹̤̙̼d̨̧̨̧̜̦̹̯.̶̸͚̻̯͚̟̖͍̙͙̜͈̞͙͖̲̜̀̀͜ͅ ͎̗̣̤͓͉͍̞͘͘͢ͅÍ͕̥̯̝͝t̴̢͈͚̳̪̗̤̦̱͕̜̼̻̀̕ ̸̵̘̭̲̫̯͖̳̼͘͠w̶̸҉̮̰̖̺̙̠͈̮̖̦a҉͚̲͇͎͓͓̲͇̺̦̮̗͉͠ͅs̵̶͙̹͎͖̝͚̩̜͇̣͢͞ ̷̧̛͉͎͉̤̱̹̺̦̝̻̘͕͇̟̘̙͍̀n͏̨̫̮̘̻̥̻̩̺́̕͞ǫ́҉̖̬̼̣̜̙̝̳͖̲̟̰̘̥͇̗̲̙́t̙͕̬͙̕͜͜ ͖͓̭̠̯̠̠͓̰͖́̕o̡̨̼̘͙͇̜̖̖̼̗̰̳͈͈̯͙̙ͅͅu̖̱̼̦̗̩̗͇͔̝̮͍̠͢r̶̢̛̝̘̹̲̣͈̣̤͇͇͕̳̖͞ͅ ̴̨̧̩͖̹͖̤̜̙̫̜ͅd̷̢̛̩͔̤͖̻͈̠̟̝̤o̡͓̦̭̞͚͖͔͕̦̫͖̹̣̺̫̩̲͇̲͞i҉͏͕̟̬̗̪̝̹̹̩n̷̡̳̲̠͙̯̤͉͕̬͖̮̰̬̞̠̤͈͔͠͞g̵̮̻̼̳͍̣̕͝ ̣̯̲̣̭̤̭̱̗͘͞a҉̨͙͔̜̬͈͚̤͖͍͈̺̻̖̀ͅņ̷̡̖̩̬̦̠̰̬̗̼̫͚̣̺̠̭̞͜͞ͅd͏҉̼̩͉̗͍̗̣͚̪̲̗̥͖̻̦̯ ̮̼̖͚̙̩̝͜͝ͅẁ̢̩̼̩̭̪̦͓̯͎̳̝̥̲̗̜͇̪̘͘͞e̶̟̘͎̣̝͓̺̠͘ ̸̨̙̲̘̭̩͚̣̲ͅc̨̟̗̗͍͜a̵̢͠͏̷͙̣͓̩̠̤͔͉̥̫̰̮̠ͅņ͟͜͏̲̪̙̳̤̪̦̠̰̠̪͍̮̭̣̜n̨͔̞͈̭̲̬̖̻̬̳̲͔͔̙͇̝̬o̞͉̹̩͘t͝҉̤̣̟̗͈͓͔͈͎̥̫̯̞̟̳́ ̡̥̻̪̣̭̙͇͔͈̤͚̤͞͝ͅd̡̡̧̤̫̖̯̥̪̼̖̪͉̖͢͞i̢͔̞̠̮͖̕ͅr̬̮̩̰̝̩͙͔̱̩̗̻̦̫͙͜͟͝ę̙̺͚̜̼͉͔̠̙̥͓̣̮̣̀͡c̷҉̴͍̗̰͈͈̟̜̯̘̯̭̝͟ͅt͏̡̛̭̪̲̦̱̮̣̟͈̠̬͟͠ ̴̨̙͇͔͔͚̺͔̜̦̝͖̬̲͞ͅỳ̶̡̫͉̫̱͙̹̼̫̮̝̖̖͉̬̙̩̗̕͝ó̷̶͈̜͇̬͇̯̞̥͔̣̲̱̜̠̝͎̪͔̲͜͜u̷͘͟͏̨̘̺̦̱̩͕̹ ̧̬̝̮͔̥̪̰̹̥̫̥̤̮̩̕t̨̢̫͇̰͙̲̼̤̞͎̟̰̤͙̥͝o̷̹̣̬̙̺͉̩͉͙̬̞̖̝̘̟̕ͅ ̵̴̠͖̱̹̫̠̯̗̭̞̙̱ͅt̼̬͇̖͜ͅh҉̶̢͎͓̪͇̼̞͖̖͈̦͇e̴͍̹͔͡ ͕͇̮̖̖͔͎͎̗̠͎͙̀̕͟͟ͅs̵̩͉͉̖̼̝̺̳̤̤͙͚̻͝͝o̙̗̝̳̥̦̯̦̺͙̘͚̟͔̲͉͝ͅͅu̵̧̹͖̫͚̜͚͟r̨̡̛͍̜͓͓̠̳̻͙͉̘̭͍̕͡c̴̨̹͙̪͓͉͇̪͓̳̟̭̞̯̝̯̠͢ͅe̴̴̢̯͈̞͈̹͟͢.̡̛̪̫̹̟̱͖̥̟̤͟ ̧̨̡̜͚̙͉̖̮̭̙̗̼̠͠͞W̸̡̤͍̲͍̺͕̘͘͜͟e̷̛̯̯͍͎͍̯͎͘ ̡̧̛̼̜̤͕͖̰̤̤̱͖̦͘͢ą̵͕͓̺̯̭̩͇̥͈͔̤͔͓͍͡r̡̞̜̤̭̱̦̣̘̤̤̖͙͖̦͍̘̰̝͖̀e̵͇̣̹̜̪̣̪̤̙̦̬̣͢͞ ̮͎͇̯̳̹̞̖̝͚̗̤͖́͘̕ͅͅs̪̼̲̗͖̤̹̥͡o̙͔̝͇͉̞̫̼̩͈͓̭̠͘͜r̴̢̢͏͇͖̖̹͖͍͙̼r͍̻̗͈̙̟̗͟͠ͅy̡̨̛͎͓̘̤͕̗̠̥̺̯̻̟͟͝ͅͅ.̴̨̫̘̯̤̭̕̕͜, my Tallest.**


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